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Some in the Jewish community and other Israel backers are reacting with alarm to reports that Obama is preparing to nominate former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) as secretary of defense. A senior administration official told POLITICO Friday that Hagel is the leading contender to replace Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who’s expected to step down early next year.

Few believe Hagel’s troubles would lead the Senate to vote him down, but Obama will have to assess how big a furor pro-Israel forces will raise and whether the White House wants to deal with it. United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice this week withdrew her name from consideration for secretary of state, saying she had concluded that her “confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly” for Obama and his agenda.

Advocates for Israel have a variety of policy disagreements with Hagel, but one of their biggest concerns may be his frank and unflattering public assessments of their work and role in Washington.

“The political reality is … that the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here,” Hagel told former Mideast peace negotiator Aaron David Miller in a 2006 interview. “I have always argued against some of the dumb things they do because I don’t think it’s in the interest of Israel. I just don’t think it’s smart for Israel.”

Hagel also said he didn’t think he had ever signed one of the letters the American Israel Public Affairs Committee regularly circulates to demonstrate support for Israel or tough stands against its enemies such as Iran. “I didn’t sign the letter because it was a stupid letter,” he said in the interview with Miller, referring to one such missive.

Hagel has also been blunt in dismissing those who think he’s not sufficiently supportive of Israel.

“I’m not an Israeli senator. I’m a United States senator,” the Nebraska Republican told Miller for his book “The Much Too Promised Land,” released in 2008.

“I support Israel, but my first interest is I take an oath of office to the Constitution of the United States, not to a president, not to a party, not to Israel. If I go run for Senate in Israel, I’ll do that,” the senator said.

A spokesman for AIPAC, Marshall Wittmann, had no comment on Hagel’s record or his possible nomination. But as Hagel was mulling a presidential bid in 2007, the National Jewish Democratic Council said the senator “has a lot of questions to answer about his commitment to Israel.”

“The record speaks for itself, on issues like consistently voting against sanctions on Iran to stop their pursuit of nuclear weapons capability, against naming [Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] a terrorist organization, refusing to call on the European Union to name Hezbollah — which has killed more Americans than any terrorist group in the world except Al Qaeda — as a terrorist organization,” said Josh Block, a former AIPAC spokesman.

AIPAC should not dictate our foreign policy since AIPAC represents the far right Likud Party which stands for land-grabbing and against peace. AIPAC is the source of our problems. The 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said he hated us because of our biased support for Israel (See The 9/11 Commission Report page 147). The Likud Party Charter opposes a Palestinian state, and thus at the UN last month we stood almost alone with Israel against the world which recognizes Palestinian statehood. Israel's brutal occupation is in violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions. As Israel's main supporter we are subjected to anti-American terror attacks and led into bankrupting wars to benefit Israel. Iran is next on their list.

Bravo Sen. Hagel! America needs a realist on the issue of Israel. Too many American politicians are afraid of the Israel lobby. And too much of American foreign policy is driven by religious devotion - rather than a realistic appraisal of Israel's value to the American people.

Hagel is only stating the truth. I love all my Jewish friends, but Israel should not be getting so much of our tax dollars, American tax payers give the country hundreds of billions of dollars as we run massive deficits and debt. They need to pay their own way and support themselves, we need to focus on cutting our spending and spending our tax dollars on our own country. The pro-Israel lobby is powerful, rich, and works are government for cash and political concessions constantly.

As an American Jew, I find this sort of toxic innuendo campaign reprehensible. It's obviously being orchestrated by AIPAC a lobby that has become as manically single-minded as the NRA. Israel sadly is now saddled with a bankrupt group of hard-line fundamentalists that have weakened the country in order to support the views of religious extremists. This is extremely dangerous -- and what is AIPAC doing about it? Goose-stepping in lock step. Disgusting.

It's clear that the Republicans are going to pick a fight one way or the other and it's a matter of which poison does the President wish to deal with. Clearly to pick John Kearry is to hand the Republicans a victory and a pick of Chuck Hagel would also be a victory in many ways as well. The 'plain talking' Hagel has made his enemies and they will be out with knives drawn if he is selected. His positions as articulated are not favorable to Israel at a time when Israel is already feeling isolated and picking him would be the wrong message to send to our friends and enemies alike.

Who gives a rats ass about Israel? Nominate someone who represents and stands up for the United States. So sick of even the thought of our sovereignty and foreign policy dictated to us by the tiny little country of Israel with less than 2% of our population.